Adored to indifferent
by Concise Complexity
Summary: In an effort to change her attitude Mint's parents send her from her adoring private school to a public school. AU
1. Chapter 1

_I decided to try my hand at a Tokyo Mew Mew fic. I'm hoping cutesy stuff'll be easier to write... --;;; Hope you enjoy;_

_Disclaimer: If I had been writing TMM I highly doubt that I'd have had such a crappy ending in comparison with the rest of the story..._

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"Mint you were amazing!"

"Yeah you totally stole the show!"

"You looked gorgeous in that dress!"

"When are you dancing again?"

The black haired (Ha ha her hair's black not blue! XP) girl grinned smugly at her circle of admirers, all dazzled by her dance performance the previous evening, "I know I was pretty great wasn't I?" School had just let out for the weekend and she stood surrounded by fans, both girls and guys, waiting for her ride.

"YESSS!" They all squealed.

"Oh there's my ride. I have to go. Bye everyone!" She waved regally as she entered the black limo. Her driver shut the door behind her and they began to drive home.

'Life sure is great.' She thought happily, 'I have money, I go to a great private school, I'm the most popular girl there and I have the best boyfriend in the world.'

"Aizawa-san you are to report to your father's study as soon as you get home. Your parents said they needed to talk to you."

"Aright." She answered. _'Probably they want to tell me how well I'm doing in school. I have straight A's this semester.'_

When they arrived home Mint made her way up to the study and was about to knock but decided against it after hearing the serious tone of her parents' voices.

"Of course changing schools will do her good. She needs to learn more social skills than that of a revered idol." Her mother's soprano voice said matter-of-factly.

Mint blanched and threw open the mahogany door, "I am not changing schools!"

Her parents jumped in surprise.

"Dear, your mother and I think-"

"I don't care what you think! I will not change schools! And so what if everyone thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread! (I heard that on an old show once and started cracking up! I know I'm a nerd…) It's not like they're being misled! I am the greatest-"

"THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!"

The younger girl cringed.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU MAY BE ON TOP OF THE WORLD NOW BUT ONE DAY YOU'LL BE THE UNDERDOG! AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET BACK ON TOP YOU'LL BE A POOR BUM ON THE STREETS!"

"Can't I just borrow money from Dad?"

"Sweetheart, you won't always have someone to leech off of. One day Kasami and I will be gone and the money won't last forever." _'At least at the rate I know you'll spend it at…' _"You need to know how to get to the top-"

"And work."

"And work. Do you get what we're trying to say?"

"NO! I think it's the worst torture anyone could ever inflict on their daughter! I hate you!" Crying hot tears of anger she fled dramatically from the room to the comfort of her bedroom.

Mint tugged at the hem of her blue sweater nervously. She glared at the red brick public school looming before her. Nothing looked at all like how she knew it to be at her old school. She wrinkled her nose in contempt at a couple showing a very graphic display of affection as well as the smoke of some unknown drug being smoked not far away. Glamorous girls laughed and gossiped, encircling a tall, beautiful, raven-haired girl.

'That is where I belong.' Mint grinned and made her way over to the group.

They stopped talking abruptly and stared at her.

"Hello, My name is Mint Aizawa. I'm new here. Would you mind showing me around?"

They glanced at the center girl, who was apparently to them, what she was to everyone else at her old school. "Ask someone who cares for your well-being." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked into the school.

Mint could feel her face burning, "Hey! Come back here! You can't speak to me like that!"

"Are you crazy? That's Zakuro Fujiwara and her lackeys! You don't just go up and talk to her like that on your first day!"

Mint glared at the redheaded girl, "No I'm not crazy thank you very much! And yes I can talk to her on my first day! I just did! Who are you to tell me otherwise?"

"Jeez I was just trying to help!" she replied defensively, "My name's Ichigo Momomiya. My friends and I are over there. If you get lost or something." She turned around and returned to her group of friends.

'Does she think I'm so socially inept that I'd resort to hanging out with her group of misfits? She's the crazy one.'

The bell rang and she went with the torrents of students into the school.

"What a self-centered brat!" Ichigo shouted fists clenched, "She thinks she can just do whatever she wants by herself! I was just trying to be nice-"

"Calm down Ichigo. You're not going to get anywhere ranting like that." Ryou rolled his bright blue eyes.

"Who's ranting?"

"You."

"Jerk! What's your problem?"

"Chill out!" Pudding (They're all the same age. Makes things easier on me.) dumped a bucket of water, that she spontaneously pulled out of nowhere, over her head

The cat girl was momentarily silent.

"I guess it is her decision whether or not she wants to accept out help or not." Lettuce sighed, "We can't worry about it too much."

"But I won't be surprised when she comes crawling back! Just you wait!"

They gathered up last night's homework and went inside for a long boring day of school.

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_Hope you liked! I really appreciate any reviews. Even flames. And please tell me if you have any suggestions in improving this story and I'll think about it. Thanks so much for reading! I'll try to have chapter two up soon!_

_10:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time_

_Me_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! I apologize! It has been a while! And to answer your questions it is an AU and to make things less complicated (Heh I'm damn lazy!) they are not mew mews. **

**I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

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Mint glared at her locker indignantly. There were only a few minutes until the tardy bell and she couldn't get her locker open. An angry flush crept across her cheeks. She wanted to curse at that locker so badly, but decided it would be more beneficial to her reputation if she suffered in silence.

Two minutes. She bit her lip and frantically twisted the lock. The hallways were beginning to clear. She didn't even know where her homeroom was.

"Do you need some help?"

She whirled around to see who had spoken to her. She almost wished she hadn't.

A friendly smile graced Keiichiro's lips making her blush grow.

'_He's gorgeous!_' the inner her shouted, '_Say something!_'

"Yes." She managed stepping away from the locker to let him work the lock.

'_Great job!_' she thought sarcastically.

"What's your combination?"

"18 32 14." She answered not able to look away.

"Okay. Left, right, left. There!" The locker swung open, "Do you think you get it now?"

"Yes thank you so much." She replied with a graceful smile, "May I ask your name?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"I'm Keiichiro. And you are?" He asked not noticing the flirtatious batting-of-the-eyelashes.

"Mint Aizawa."

"It's nice to meet you. And not to be rude, but we're dangerously close to being late so I have to get to class."

"Right. Thank you again." She began putting (More like jamming) her things into her locker.

She skidded, in a very uncharacteristic manner, into her homeroom just as the bell rang. There was one seat left.

'_Uggh it's that girl from earlier._' Begrudgingly she took the seat closest to the teacher's desk next to Ichigo.

'_Oh no it's her!_' Ichigo thought simultaneously.

"Alright everyone we have a new student." The teacher said in his bored, 'I don't know why the hell I even teach' voice, "Miss Aizawa why don't you tell us something about yourself." 'Even though I really don't think that I could care less…'

Mint strode elegantly to the front of the class and smiled as flawlessly as she could manage, "I'm Mint Aizawa. And my parents sent me to this school from my private school because they want me to learn to work with the- ah- less privileged people."

She wasn't phased at all by the several glares she received.

"Thank you." She returned to her seat.

"Hey!" Ichigo hissed, "What was all that about us being less privileged?"

"Oh my parents think that I need to learn to deal with people who aren't as rich as me. And to work. Is something wrong?"

"Just your attitude!"

Mint blinked in surprise, but made a quick recovery, "MY attitude? You have no right to say that to me after you've just met me. I think you're the one that needs an attitude adjustment! You judgmental peasant!"

"Peasant! You- Ow!"

"Quiet please, ladies. Your babbling's driving me insane." The teacher tapped Ichigo on the head with his grade book.

"We're very sorry sir, It won't happen again." Mint replied with another sincere smile. (Suck up… I can so see her sucking up to a teacher like that)

He raised an eyebrow at her and didn't reply.

"Well that was rude he didn't even answer me." She huffed.

"Get used to it." Ichigo muttered.

"Fine. I suppose I will if I must."

The shrill bell rang ending homeroom.

Her poised stroll turned into somewhat of a stumbling jog upon entering the mob all trying to get to their first class on time. The stiletto heels on her designer shoes earned her several icy glares. Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, she arrived at her first class, English.

She took a seat at the very front of the room next to the window.

"Alright everybody take their seats and be quiet." Ms. Minao drawled from on top of her desk.

The babble did not cease.

"I SAID SILENCE!" She glared at them icily, "Thank you. Now today we're going to be learning about indirect objects…"

That was all Mint heard. Until approximately ten minutes later she woke with a jolt as Minao snapped a ruler down on her desk with an earsplitting crack.

"EH!" She fell out of her chair in shock short skirt flying up to reveal a set of pink panties.

There was quiet, and then laughter rang throughout the room.

Mint's face reddened. Nevertheless, she returned to her seat not seeming perturbed in the slightest.

"Hey, are you ok?" Lettuce asked her.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, truly close to tears.

"Are you sure? That was pretty embarrassing."

"I said I'm ok."

"Ummm sorry."

"All right, all right everybody you can quiet down now." Minao waited a minute, tapping her foot impatiently, "LISTEN YOU BRATS! I DON'T GET PAID TO STAND UP HER AND LISTEN TO YOUR PETTY CONVERSATIONS! SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!"

A random boy in the back of the room (unfortunately for him) did not stop in time however.

"Matt, congratulations you have earned the fiftieth detention I've given out this year! And just because I don't like you, you get a bonus of an extra two weeks earning you one month of detention!"

He stared at her, mouth agape.

"Wait a minute! That isn't fair!" Mint shouted despite the warnings her conscience was giving her.

"Sweetie, ya' know what? Spontaneous combustion isn't fair, but it happens. No one knows why, but it does. It isn't fair that Matt was born lacking the brain capacity to shut his trap when I told him to, but it happened."

"Well since he's lacking the sense then why are you punishing him?"

"Because my word is law! 3 Now I'd advise you to stop arguing before I decide to lengthen your sentence of one week!"

"WHAT!"

"Would you rather two?"

Mint sat back down, tears prickling in the back of her eyes.

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**Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! That's really what sparred me to write this chapter! Otherwise it probabl;y would've been another month!**

**"Parting is such sweet sorrow." Juliet**

**I 3 you reviewers! **

**6:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time**

**Me**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

'This school is truly horrid.' Mint thought wiping off the remains of her, now running, mascara, 'I've never had detention in my life and in the second hour of being in this pit I get a week's worth.' She scowled at her red and blotchy face in the bathroom mirror, 'And now everyone probably thinks I'm a crybaby and totally uncool. This really stinks.'

She sighed, 'Well at least that Zakuro girl from earlier wasn't in my class. Or him.' She blushed as her thoughts strayed to Keiichiro. His handsome almost beautiful face, those deep brown eyes that captured and held her own pools of sapphire, not to mention his stunning-

She shook her head, 'I probably don't have much of a chance with him after today. And I have a perfectly good and rich boy friend back at home. He's almost certainly taken anyway. I'd better get to class. My day's been bad enough without getting another detention.'

Little did Mint know, she was going to be going to gym. The proven worst class at the entire school.

The girls' gym teacher was a drill sergeant in all but looks and seduction skills. She could've been a highly paid model… She certainly was popular enough with most of the boys at the school to be one. There were several rumors going around (More true than not) that she'd seduced several students only to deny it the next time she'd spoken with the young teenagers. However during gym class the only thing she seemed to concentrate on was deriving as much suffering as possible from each and every student. And the more you protested, the more laps you run after school. The detentions she gave out were not held in classrooms, but outside on the football field. Yes, it was proven; gym class was hell on earth.

She got changed and walked out of the locker room and took her place in the line of girls waiting for class to start.

"Alright you bunch of lazy wimps, listen up! Today we're going to play volleyball." The gym teacher walked up and down the line, "We'll be playing a tournament of sorts and the best team will be playing the boys class. We- or should I say you, are going to run ten laps to warm up. Then I'll split you up into teams of six. And if I catch any of you cutting corners it'll be detention. Go!"

Everyone groaned and started the run.

'This is so stupid. If we run ten laps where will we get the energy to play?' But Mint knew better than to put her thoughts into words.

Finally, the running was over and she assigned teams, "Alright! Aizawa, Momomiya, Tsugiri, Takanaka, Kurosawa, and Fujiwara you will be team one! Hustle over to the far court. I said HUSTLE!" **(1)**

'Oh no I'm not good at sports! I'll embarrass myself in front of Zakuro! And why'd I get stuck with _that girl _again?' she scowled, 'I hate gym.'

It shocked and displeased her however that team one was the team to compete with the boys… and she wasn't bad at playing setter. **(2)** Of course Zakuro's amazing athleticism helped significantly. She would've been happy to reach the final round had their team not be playing against the team Keiichiro was on.

She grimaced as she wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead with her arm. She was tired.

"We have to win this one." Zakuro growled at the rest of her team.

"Why this one more than the others?" Mint questioned, confused at the girl's sudden intensity.

She stared at her a moment, "My boyfriend is over there."

"Oh. Then yes we have to win." She agreed. 'Although I bet her boyfriend isn't any cuter or more charming than mine is!'

The taller girl raised an eyebrow at her.

They went into position on the court.

"Good luck hon. You'll need it." Keiichro grinned good-naturedly at her.

"We'll see Keiichiro." She let a slight smile play at her lips, "What are you staring at Aizawa?"

"Ah, nothing! Just trying to telepathically give you some of my energy 'cause I've got tons! Not that you need it or anything!" Her flush was one of embarrassment as well as irritation.

Zakuro of course had stopped listening after the first sentence.

'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr no fair! He's her boyfriend? Well she's right we definitely have to win this! I have to make an impression!' Mint clenched her fist, sapphire orbs glittering intensely.

Ryou smashed the first serve over. Ichigo charged forward. The ball bounced off her arms and hit a classmate.

"Ryou you jerk! That hurt!" She cried rubbing her arm which now had an imprint from the ball. **(3)**

He shrugged and served another rocket to the same spot. This time however Ichigo was shoved out of the way by Zakuro who made a very exact pass to Mint and as it was passed back, proceeded to spike it over.

"Hello! I'm on your team!" Ichigo shouted indignantly as they scored the point.

"Yeah but you suck." The other girl responded casually, getting back into position.

Mint served the ball over and bolted up to her position at the net. Unsurprisingly, the ball was returned. Takanaka completely missed it.

"Daydream in your own time!" Zakuro shouted at the poor girl, "Every point counts!"

"O-okay!" She squeaked, "I'll try harder Miss Fujiwara! I promise!"

She rolled her eyes in response.

The game was an intense one and the lead continued to move back and forth from one team to the other.

"Come on kids let's wrap this up. Whoever scores the next point wins!" the boys' gym teacher shouted.

Unfortunately for the girls, it was Masaya who had the serve. This was bad because he was freakishly athletic and he was the most worshipped boy in the school leaving only Mint and Zakuro in full concentration.

Zakuro sighed, "Aizawa you'd better be ready."

"I am!" she responded.

As predicted, the serve was fast deep and hard.

'Crap I'm going to have to hit this.' Mint thought swiftly taking it.

"Hit it!" Zakuro commanded making a perfect pass for her to hit.

Everything seemed to slow as Mint rushed forward, leapt in the air, and spiked the ball.

She gaped as it hit the court floor loudly. And then smirked her usual self absorbed smirk.

Ichigo squealed, "Yeah we did it!"

"Nice." Zakuro had the grace to bestow upon her a small smile.

"Oh thank you! But I'm sure any of you could've done it!"

"Probably just me." The raven haired girl responded quietly before walking over to Keiichiro smirking.

"Hey that was rude!" Ichigo shouted after her, "Come-!" she stopped as she caught sight of her boyfriend, "Ow Masaya my arm huuurts!"

"I'm sorry." He responded good naturedly.

Mint rolled her eyes, 'What an idiot. Any decent boy would've told her to just suck it up.'

"That was a beautiful hit, Miss Aizawa."

Mint whirled around to face Keiichiro and Zakuro, "Why thank you!" She blushed and put on her most dazzling smile, "But I'm sure Zakuro could've done it too."

"True." He grinned at his girl friend who merely shrugged in response, "I'll be seeing you later."

"OK bye!"

She bit her tongue to keep from squealing and walked to the locker room.

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**1. Tsugiri and Takanaka I don't know where those names came from. Kurosawa I stole from Azu Manga Daioh. Which does not belong to me. Please don't pay any attention to these characters. I just stuck them in because I am lacking the last names of Lettuce and Pudding…**

**2. For those of you who aren't familiar with volleyball the setter is the player who is supposed to receive the first pass. They then set the ball up for the player who will be spiking/hitting it. They always play in the front row.**

**3. No I'm not exaggerating. Hard serves do tend to do that. :)**

**I'm sorry for the slow updates. But odds are they're not gonna get any faster so you'll have to bear with me! Not that any of you have been complaining or anything... Any way, thanks for your patience and reviews! (2 more days of school left! WOOT:D)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! And welcome to the fourth installment of "Adored to Indifferent"! Once again I thank all of you for your wonderful reviews! They are very very much appreciated! **

**Disclaimer : If I owned Tokyo mew Mew than Ichigo would most definitely not be as ditzy as she is. (Sorry Ichigo fans)**

The next two class periods before lunch flew by. However the happy feeling disappeared when Mint realized that she had no one to sit with at lunch. She frowned, looking over the lunchroom from the salad bar.

'_Well_' she thought. '_I could either go and sit with the losers and possibly be deemed one of them for the rest of my life or I could go sit with Zakuro and her friends and try and make conversation and if it goes badly definitely be deemed a loser all my life._'

She decided to chance it and strode confidently over to the beautiful group of people on the right side of the lunch room. She gave her prettiest smile and set her tray down on the table.

One of the blonde girls sitting at the said table gave her an alienating look, "This seat's saved."

"Oh I'm sorry." She slid her tray over to the next spot over.

"I don't think you understand, this is a table for beautiful high class people. Not trolls who wear last year's fashions and fall asleep during classes.

The girl's posse laughed.

Mint's face flushed in anger.

"Your fake laughs are ticking me off." Zakuro was standing behind her cold expression on her face.

"Ah! Miss Fujiwara! We're sorry Cindy just made the funniest comment about that troll you're-"

The purple haired girl slammed her tray down on the table, "Cindy's jokes are not funny. They're idiotic. And at least Aizawa doesn't spend an hour every morning putting on a mask like I know you all do."

"What but I'm not wearing a mask…." Cindy scratched her head in confusion.

"Well ten layers of makeup are about equivalent to one. And it still doesn't hide all the vulgar state of your face. Aizawa can sit wherever she wants."

They all gaped at her for a minute and than Cindy said, "Uh Zakuro who died and made you queen of this table? No one. We all don't want her here."

"You know what girls, sometimes you don't get what you want!" Mint told them with a sugary sweet smile, "And to that unnecessary comment about my fashion, I'll have you know this whole ensemble came from Paris yesterday so I apologize if you weren't aware just how _in_ it is."

She paused for a moment, and then spoke again.

"I don't want to sit with people who are so blatantly out of style so I'm going to go sit with people who have such old fashions that they're starting to come back. Thank you!" She picked up her tray, turned on her heel, and left them all staring in awe after her. (**1**)

She made her way over to the left side of the cafeteria where the so-called 'losers' were sitting, "Hello." She set her tray down.

"Did they kick you out?" Ryou asked smirking.

"No as a matter of fact, I told them I didn't want to sit with people like them." She replied holding her head high.

"Well, either way you're sitting with the losers."

"I'm well aware of that thank you. I'm not so sheltered that I wouldn't know losers when I saw them."

"Hey, a new person!" Pudding bounced over to the table tray sporting more sugary snacks than actual food."

"Pudding you know that the doctor told you not to eat so much sugar. You're going to get diabetes." Lettuce chided gently.

"Aw phooey, I'll worry about that when I get older! Anyway, I'm Pudding! Who are you?"

"My name is Mint Aizawa. I transferred here from Baker Private High School."

A silence fell over the table.

"**The **Baker High School?" Ichigo exclaimed loudly.

"Please lower your voice down a few decibels, I'm right here. Yes, **The** Baker Private High School."

"No wonder you're such a brat."

"Ryou don't be rude to her! She probably has connections with the mafia or something!" Ichigo exclaimed. (But whispered the last part in case Mint _did_ happen to have connections.)

"Isn't that the most expensive school in the Eastern Hemisphere?" Lettuce asked eyes wide as saucers.

"That's the one."

"WOW! I bet that's a lot of money!" Pudding had no idea how much money that really was.

"Well yes it is a lot of money, but winning so many dancing competitions helps."

"Oh! You dance too?" Lettuce asked in awe, "What kind of dancing is it?"

"I prefer ballet but I can do pretty much anything." She took the last bite of her salad, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to get to my locker." She picked up her tray and threw away what needed to be thrown away. Then proceeded to leave the cafeteria.

'Well I have those four wrapped around my finger. Only a couple thousand left.' With that thought she made the mistake of closing her eyes, and walked straight into someone. She stumbled back and opened her eyes to see a six foot ten basketball player.

"Yo watch where yo goin' bitch!" he shoved her harshly with one hand against a locker and kept walking.

She hit her head and everything fell dark.

Sometime later a kind-hearted teacher took her to the nurse's office and called her parents.

Needless to say, the six foot ten man was never seen at the school again when Mr. Aizawa (Hey if anyone has any good names for him could ya leave them in your review?) and Kasami got word of the incident.

**With the exception of Zakuro because that would be OOC.**

**Hmmmmmm how was it? A bit shorter than I meant to make it but I thought that was a good place to end it! Review please with your comments and complaints!**

**3:48 P.M. Eastern Standard Time**

**Me**


	5. Chapter 5

**I guess it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry guys!! My inspiration has been dried up as of late. I've been feeling rather downcast in school lately and that tends to leave me feeling sluggish… But anyway, if any of you are still even bothering to read this, thank you for your patience! Enjoy chapter five of Adored to Indifferent! **

**I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew or Tokyo Mew Mew A La Mode… that would mean that I could draw….**

Mint groaned as she awoke to a pounding head. She cracked open one eye, and then the other to reveal that she was no longer at school, but in her room. She was so disoriented at first that it barely registered when the maid who had been keeping watch at her bedside left the room. She sat up, wondering whether that living hell had been a fevered dream.

'_Oh it must have been. Why would my mother find that making friends with commoners like them would ever be a valuable asset in a life as charmed as mine?_' this assurance gave her a bit of comfort.

Kasami Aizawa soon entered the room, perfect brow creased slightly with concern, "Mint darling how are you feeling?"

"Ohhhh terrible Mother. I had an utterly horrifying dream! You forced me to go to public school. Then a witch of a teacher felt the need to unfairly give me detention. After that I was forced to participate in gym class and got denied a seat at the decent people's lunch table and had to sit with the losers. And finally to top it all off, I was shoved into a locker by a stupid, uneducated beast!" she moaned frailly.

She gave a soft chuckle, "So I take it that you didn't like your first day at the peasant's school?"

"I beg your pardon?" The younger questioned in disbelief, sitting bolt upright.

"I said-"

"I heard what you said!!" The girl replied with a voice that would've damaged any normal person's hearing beyond repair. Luckily for Kasami, she was the one who Mint had inherited that set of pipes from.

In an equally loud voice she yelled back, "You will not use that tone of voice with me you spoiled child! Today you lived what most people would call a normal life! The majority of people will not like you just because you're cute or you have money! You need cunning! The ability to manipulate anyone into hanging on your every word! At the moment, you are utterly and completely hopeless! If I managed to wrap a man like your Father around my finger with barely the bat of an eyelash, surely you can learn how to do the same!"

All the color had drained from Mint's face as she stared at the irate woman in a stupor.

She let out a slow, calming breath, "Now I was going to come and tell you that your father took care of that so called beast and that I heard from a reliable source that you played rather well in your physical education class today. But I'm not really in the mood to talk to you right now, Mint. You haven't even had the pleasure of getting a job yet and you're complaining. If you think that this is horrifying, you haven't seen anything yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I will be taking my leave." With that she stood and walked briskly from the room.

Once the shock wore off Mint promptly burst into tears, '_How could she be so insensitive? She doesn't know what it's like to have everyone hate you because you're you! And what does she mean I haven't seen anything yet? This is torture! I hate her!_'

She whipped her cell phone out of her Chanel purse and began texting all of her friends (well not all of them obviously, she had so many) about what a terrible mother she'd been cursed with. Naturally she got the replies she wanted, the horrified, the shocked, the upset "OMG"s of her peers and admirers. But there was only one way to get out of this slump. It was time for a few hundred dollars' worth of shopping!

'_Take that witch! You can't rain on my parade!' _

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Ryou furrowed his brows at one of the finance papers he was supposed to be helping Keiichiro with. The phrase 'dumb blonde' was starting to make an alarming amount of sense. He groaned softly and leaned back in his chair to stretch.

Keiichiro glanced up at him, a small smile playing at his lips, _'Wait for it.'_

"Shit!" Ryou yelped as he went crashing backwards to the floor. This time his groan was a bit louder, "I hate numbers!"

"It wasn't the numbers' fault that you leaned back too far. Again."

"Yeah it was."

"And why is that?"

"The numbers are gigantic and it's taken so long to finish them that I had to stretch."

"Uh huh." Keiichiro didn't sound the slightest bit convinced, "Then why is it that I've already finished my stack and moved on to homework?"

"The same reason that you handle this, and I take care of the hiring, menu, and aesthetics. You my friend are book smart."

He sighed and massaged his temples, "Fine, Ryou. You can head home and I'll lock up for the night."

"No, I offered to help so I'm--"

"Keiichiro sometimes I wonder if I'm just part of an elaborately designed scheme to cover up your marriage to him. You two fight like a married couple." Zakuro entered the room, chuckling.

He laughed and Ryou rolled his eyes, "Are you ready to leave, love?"

"Just about. I finally finished vacuuming all of the crumbs that our prissy little customers just can't seem to keep off the floor." She primly took a seat next to her boyfriend.

"It is a restaurant, Zakuro. And you would be out of a job without our 'prissy little customers'. He smiled lightly at her, "Although if you wanted to you could always help Ryou with calculating those 'gigantic' numbers instead."

Said boy snapped his fingers suddenly, "I got it!"

"Good job, blondie." She told him dryly.

"No, not the number. It's been bothering me all day. Do you both know Mint Aizawa? The snobby new girl?"

"The one who helped our team beat yours at volleyball in gym class?" The raven-haired girl offered when Keiichiro shook his head negative.

"Oh. Yes, she seems like a sweet girl. What about her?"

"I've been trying to figure out where I know her from and just now when Zakuro mentioned our 'prissy customers' I realized that she comes in here frequently."

Recognition flashed in the couple's eyes.

"Mint Aizawa you said her name was? Actually I talked to her mother the other day. She wanted to apply Mint for a job here. I told her I'd take it into consideration. Ryou, what do you think?"

"I think--"

"You can't!" Zakuro interrupted.

"Yeah I can! I own this thing!"

"You don't know what you're doing! She is one of the most spoiled girls who comes here."

"Precisely why this is going to be so much fun." Ryou grinned.

"I never knew you were much for sadism, Ryou." Keiichiro dug through a file cabinet and set the application in front of him.

Zakuro raised an eyebrow, "You are so impulsive."

"Hey, if her mother wants her to have the job then obviously she can't just quit on us. And if we run into problems we do have the authority to fire her. I'm going to try this." He smirked and signed the paper with a flourish.

"I'll give Mrs. Aizawa a call later!" Keiichiro said brightly.

She looked annoyed, "You really don't know what you're letting him do. Good night." She pressed a languid kiss to her boyfriend's lips and left.

**Wow Holy crap. This took forever. And to think that chemistry jumpstarted my inspiration. That makes me giggle. I guess boredom does funny things to people's brains. And I apologize if anyone is offput by Ryou's OOC-ness. The fic needed a little life to it. I promise I don't plan on abandonig this! Ever! This chapter is really short but I felt like I should give something. Reviews are much appreciated!**

**8:15 P.M. Eastern Standard Time**

**Me**


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